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Pope Francis and US President Joe Biden spoke by phone on Sunday afternoon to discuss “the latest developments in Israel and Gaza,” according to a statement from the White House. The Holy See Press Office said earlier the phone call lasted about 20 minutes and focused on “conflict situations in the world and the need to identify paths to peace.” “The president condemned the barbarous attack by Hamas against Israeli civilians and affirmed the need to protect civilians in Gaza,“ the White House statement said. The two also talked about Biden’s trip to Israel last week and his efforts at humanitarian assistance in the region. The pope and the president also discussed “the need to prevent escalation in the region and to work toward a durable peace in the Middle East,” the White House said. Earlier in the day, Pope Francis in his Sunday Angelus appealed for peace in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which is entering its third week. “Once again my thoughts turn to what is happening in Israel and Palestine. I am very worried, saddened; I pray and I am close to all those who suffer, the hostages, the injured, the victims, and their families,” the pope said. The pope also remembered those who continue to suffer in Ukraine.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255774/pope-francis-and-us-president-biden-speak-by-phone
The attorney general of Oklahoma has filed a lawsuit against the nation’s first religious charter school, claiming its establishment violates the state’s religious liberty protections. State Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican, announced the lawsuit October 20 in the Oklahoma State Supreme Court. The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board had earlier this month approved the contract of Saint Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. The board in June had approved the school’s application, with this month’s contract approval clearing another hurdle for the school’s projected opening next year. Charter schools are special publicly funded education institutions. Drummond said the contract approval “violated the religious liberty of every Oklahoman” by forcing state residents to fund “the teachings of a specific religious sect with our tax dollars.” The charter school “clearly violates the Establishment Clause and must be stopped,” the lawsuit states. It asks the court to “correct the board’s unlawful actions.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255777/oklahoma-attorney-general-files-lawsuit-against-nation-s-first-religious-charter-school
Today the Church celebrates Saint John of Capistrano, a Franciscan priest whose life included a political career, extensive missionary journeys, efforts to reunite separated Eastern Christians with Rome, and a historically important turn at military leadership. Invoked as a patron of military chaplains, Saint John of Capistrano was praised by Saint John Paul II in a 2002 general audience for his “glorious evangelical witness,” as a priest who “gave himself with great generosity for the salvation of souls.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-john-of-capistrano-633